There is no containing the joy among a scattering of Jordanian fans saluting Abdullah Shelbayh’s Grand Slam qualifying debut on Court 12 at Melbourne Park.
Draped in traditional red and white keffiyeh scarves on the outside court at the back of the precinct they had good cause for celebration after the left-hander from Amman worked his way past Frenchman Titouan Droguet 6-2 6-4.
Watched by Ons Jabeur’s coach Issam Jellali and her husband Karim Kamoun, Shelbayh – a pupil of the Rafael Nadal Academy in Mallorca – set up a meeting with fellow 20-year-old Hamad Medjedovic for a chance at a final-round qualifying berth.
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It was a small but significant step for the first Jordanian to hold an ATP ranking, a young man keen to follow in the footsteps of Arab trailblazer, three-time major finalist Jabeur.
“I spent a long time talking to Ons yesterday. She talked to me about the tour, things I need to do well, things I need to be careful of and everything that helped her get to that level on and off the court,” Shelbayh said. “I think it was great for me to hear those words before entering on court today.”
Shelbayh watched Jabeur practise on Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday with her team, including Jellali and Kamoun.
The world No.6 has taken on an occasional mentoring role for the burgeoning Middle Eastern talent, who landed his first tour-level match win in Bosnia last year and made his ATP Masters 1000 debut in Madrid.
“We hit on Margaret Court Arena and it was an amazing experience playing with someone I get inspired from, from the Arab world. She's been doing so well,” he said. “I'm happy for her. It was a big moment for me.
“She told me to never forget where I come from and always have that in the back of my mind in order to keep the motivation at all times.”
The world No.185, who advanced in 81 minutes, was not short on motivation on Wednesday and said the key to his opening triumph was that he made the most of his opportunities when they arose.
“The support was really good. I knew it was going to be a tough match,” Shelbayh said. “My opponent, I know him very well just by playing him in tournaments, so I knew it was going to be a big fight.
“I think I had to play very well at the beginning of the match in order to be there present the whole time and have my chances. I think I did that very well.”
Harris hoping for five-sets
Shelbayh’s Rafael Nadal Academy classmate Daniel Rincon was not as successful in his Australian Open qualifying debut.
The pair claimed the doubles title together at the Canberra Challenger last week, but the Spaniard was unable to emulate his part-time training partner on Wednesday.
Former world No.31 Lloyd Harris continued his comeback from persistent injuries with a 6-2 6-2 victory over 21-year-old Rincon.
The South African was on the up in 2021 when he reached the US Open quarterfinals before right wrist surgery derailed his progress.
“Everybody knows how hard it is dealing with injuries. It's like a rollercoaster a little bit coming back,” the 26-year-old said.
“Now I'm feeling good, so now it's about climbing back and earning my way back to where I was and keep climbing from there."
“No one said it's going to be easy, but it's a fun journey. You've just got to embrace it and enjoy the battle and the struggles and somehow find a way to reach the top again.”
Harris holds fond memories of a pair of five-set epics in the main draw at Melbourne Park, having denied Alexei Popyrin in a three-hour thriller in 2021 to reach the third round, and beating 17th seed Lorenzo Musetti in the opening round last year before injuries again beset his season. He next meets Frenchman Kyrian Jacquet.
“Last year was definitely one of the highlights, an incredible match, 7-6 in the fifth,” Harris said. “Also memorable against Popyrin in the fifth here.
“Australia's treated me well for five-setters and tough matches, so I’ve just got to take it one match at a time and hopefully get back to playing those five-setters.
“Last year was difficult, just multiple injuries coming back. The body doesn't understand how it was to compete anymore, but the wrist is feeling 100 per cent. There's a few other struggles but all in the past now so we're just moving forward.”
In his final Grand Slam singles outing, Australian former world No.33 John Millman kept his campaign alive with a 6-3 6-4 win against Italian Alessandro Giannessi. He will meet Slovakian former world No.38 Alex Molcan next.
READ MORE: Millman makes winning start in AO farewell
Bolivian ninth seed Hugo Dellien eased through 6-4 6-2 against Portugal’s Goncalo Oliveira for a showdown with Frenchman Harold Mayot, while Italian second seed Flavio Cobolli dropped just four games against Australian wild card Jeremy Jin.
Czech 18-year-old Jakub Mensik, the 2022 boys’ singles finalist, took down American 25th seed Brandon Nakashima in straight sets while 19th seed Maxime Cressy easily progressed over Hsu Yu Hsiou.